The Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Problem in the West

Fire in the West, the Series The first edition of Fire in the West was published in 1998. It was intended to be a report to the Council of Western State Foresters on the status of wildland fires in the West. For the first time, a person could find information on the authorities, responsibilities and fire protection systems for each of the seventeen western state forestry agencies as well as the numbers of fires and acres burned in the western states. In the spring of 2000, the Western State Fire Managers commissioned a special study on the extent of the Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Problem in the West. The third edition of Fire in the West was published in September of that year. This report could not have been more timely, because that year the West burned and the wildland/urban interface problem “smacked” us in the face. The fourth in the series of Fire in the West documented the 2000 fire season. In this edition the federal agency statistics were added, thus really presenting the full impacts of fire in the West. Fire in the West will never be a “best seller,” but it has become the document of choice when you want to know something about the extent that wildland fires play a key roles in the Western environment. Additional Copies Copies of Fire in the West can be purchased from Deer Valley Press. Write or call Deer Valley Press, 5125 Deer Valley Road, Rescue, CA 95672 or telephone (530) 676-7401. You can also find them on the “web” at www.deervalleypress.com. May 15, 2003 TO: Council of Western State Foresters FROM: Western State Fire Managers, It is an honor to again provide the Council of Western State Foresters with the most complete look at the extent and complexity of the wildland fire protection in the West. In this, the 5th edition of Fire in the West, there is special focus on the implementation of the National Fire Plan in the West and a review of the disastrous 2002 fire season. Some of the key points that will be highlighted and supported with facts are: • The number of fires and acres burned is on the increase. • There will be bigger, more damaging and costlier fires. • The National Fire Plan is providing much needed funding, but it will not last forever, and most of the funds are not being expended on long-term or permanent fixes to the fuel buildup, the wildland/urban interface fire problem and to forest health. Your fire managers hope this edition of Fire in the West is of value to you and they want to extend their thanks for the continuing support you give them. Sincerely, Wayne F. Ching, Chair Western State Fire Managers 1 2 Executive Summary Table of Contents • Fire is an integral part of the natural environment in the West. In Fire Season 2002, nearly 40,000 wildfires burned nearly seven million acres in the seventeen western states, Executive Summary destroyed hundreds of structures, and killed 21 firefighters in the West. Wildland Fire Protection • All levels of government – federal, state, and local – are either directly, or indirectly, Levels of Government (9) involved in mitigating the wildfire problem, especially in the wildland/urban interface. Areas of Responsibility (10) Here, where human improvements are mixed with flammable natural vegetation, lives, Protection Schemes (11) Funding Sources and Levels (12) natural resources and property are threatened by increasingly severe wildfires. Local Fire Departments (13) Wildland/Urban Interface (14) • A variety of federal, state, and local government agencies (as well as forest protective Roles and Responsibilities (17) associations) provide wildland fire protection in the West. A variety of protection systems Suppression Policies (41) are provided by the 17 western states, ranging from full-scale sophisticated wildland fire Fire Environment (45) departments to inadequate attempts to provide fire prevention education and interagency National Fire Plan coordination with staffing and funding. Most states are somewhere in between, with not Competitive Grants (68) enough funding to do the job effectively. Funding mechanisms for the state forestry agen- Communities at Risk (70) cies vary, with many of the rural states nearly totally dependent on State Fire Assistance Urban Watershed at Risk (80) funds from the federal government. Local government fire departments rely primarily on Healthy Forests Initiative (97) property taxes, benefit assessment fees, or in the rural all-volunteer fire departments, Drought and Fire Season 2002 donations. There are nearly 6,500 local government fire departments in the West. These Drought and Forest Fires (101) departments are frequently the initial attack force on many wildfires and the primary The 2002 Fire Season (105) source of resources for structure protection during major wildfires. Safety and Stategy (114) Why Fires Will Get Bigger (117) • The major federal wildland fire agencies have a variety of management goals that influ- Major Fires (121) ence decisions made during managing wildfires on the lands they control. State and local 2002 Statistics (149) fire protection agencies charged with the protection of small parcels in multiple owner- Appendices ships must be committed to immediate control and extinguishment (i.e. suppression) of Wildland/Urban Interface (190) wildfires. As wildfires do not respect jurisdictional or property ownership boundaries, Federal Land Ownership (195) there are times when administrative and operational conflicts can arise between agencies. WUI Fire History (205) • Interagency cooperation using the Incident Command System (ICS), Unified Com- mand, and Multi-Agency Coordinating System (MACS) are the key tools for successful mitigation of major wildfire emergencies. Potential conflicts need to be addressed prior to 3 the fire with clear, comprehensive interagency agreements and operating plans. Joint training, exercises, and command teams involving all fire agencies provide economy of scale and assure jurisdictional agency input. • Long-term drought, logging, the exclusion of fire, human development, and a variety of other factors have created a situation where most western forests are overstocked, unhealthy, and at greater risk of catastrophic wildfire than ever before. Wildfires now burn Many factors have been involved in more intensely, are more resistant to control, and cause greater damage, especially during “creating” the unhealthy forest drought conditions. Extensive preparation and follow-up are necessary to effectively condition in the West. reintroduce (prescribed) fire to the ecosystem to improve forest health or reduce fire danger. These include large scale tree thinning, brush crushing, and control line construc- tion, followed by treatment of emergent undesirable species and planting of desirable species. Air quality regulations and the threat of civil liability are also hindrances to ex- panded use of prescribed fire to restore ecosystem health. To be of strategic value, most fuel reduction projects need to be cooperative, involving multiple agencies and landowners. • The primary values at risk from wildfire, in order of priority, are: (1) human health and Homeowners must accept the safety; (2) critical watersheds/resources (urban water supply, community infrastructure, responsibility to provide protection community economic stability, communities themselves); and, (3) natural resources and individual homes. An area of contention between all levels of government has been who is for their homes. responsible for protecting structures from encroaching wildfires? There is only one correct answer: everybody; federal, state, and local governments, property owners, and communities (both urban and rural) all have an important stake in wildfire prevention and control. Homeowners in the wildland have to accept the responsibility to use ignition-resistant roofing and provide defensible space so that fire suppression forces have a greater chance of success. Whole communities need to assume responsibility for improving their own protection by providing fuelbreaks, adding fire defense improvements, and funding adequate fire protection. Local governments need to adopt planning and development regulations that will reduce the exposure of improvements in the wildland/urban interface to wildfire and to provide an adequate level of fire protection. State governments need to take the lead in providing an appropriate level of wildfire protection on non-federal lands, especially in the wildland/urban interface. The federal agencies need to provide an adequate level of protection on federal lands, especially those adjoining the wildland/urban interface. 4 • The National Fire Plan (NFP) is a coordinated federal response to the devastating fire season of 2000 that seeks to augment federal wildfire protection capability and provide increased funding to state and local government agencies to reduce fire hazard and risk, and to improve wildfire protection capabilities, especially in the wildland/urban interface (WUI). The Healthy Forests Initiative attempts to more efficiently employ commercial and The National Fire Plan is the federal non-commercial harvest methods that can reduce fire danger, improve forest health, and contribute to local economic growth. FireWise helps communities organize for large-scale response to Fire Season 2000. hazard reduction projects in the wildland/urban interface. All seventeen western States have received NFP funding for a wide variety of projects. The most popular types of projects are public education, National Fire Plan Funding, by State fuelbreaks,

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